Indonesia looking to impose new rules on start-ups

Indonesia’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has put forward a recommendation to the Government that scheduled airlines starting in Indonesia must have a minimum of five aircraft.

Deputy director of flight standards Diding Sunardi says the DGCA has put forward a recommendation that airlines must have a minimum of five aircraft on lease if they are to receive an air operator’s certificate to be a scheduled carrier.

The recommendation was made to the Ministry of Transportation, says Diding. Current regulations stipulate that airlines must have a minimum of two aircraft and the lease period in the agreement has to be at least two years, he says.

“It doesn’t make sense for an operator to only have two aircraft,” says Diding, adding that “if that is the case then it would only be a charter operator”.

If a scheduled operator only has two aircraft and “they have trouble with one of the aircraft, how are they going to provide services to the public?”.

In recent years some airlines wishing to start operations in Indonesia have experienced problems securing two aircraft needed to launch so if the requirement increases to five it could make it even harder for new entrants.